That'll Be The Day
by TheXtremeFangirl
Summary: Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs never thought he'd have to deal with an agent shot, seeing an old flame, and the emotional breakdown of his teenage daughter all in one day...he couldn't have been more wrong. Set during Twilight/Kill Ari Part One. Main pairings are Jibbs and Tate but there'll be McAbby mixed in, and possibly some OC romance for Ziva, Ellie, and maybe even Kelly.
1. Hang On Katie

**A/N: Hello everyone! Who's up for a little AU? Here's what you need to know:**

 **-Kelly was not killed in the car crash**

 **-Both Ellie and Ziva are on Gibbs' team**

 **-Ziva and Tony are dating**

 **-Twilight's gonna play out like WAAAAY different**

 **-Ziva and Ari are not related**

"Dinozzo, you and Kate take the left, Ziva, you and McGee on the right, Bishop, you're with me in the center." Gibbs ordered lowly. All of his agents nodded, guns drawn. They all moved into position and began to creep along the roof, looking for the terrorist they'd been after for weeks. Ari Haswari. It was a few minutes, but nobody found anything, and they all met in the middle. Except Tony and Kate.

"Where're Dinozzo and Todd?" Gibbs barked. The rest of them looked around. A single shot was heard, and guns were up again. The agents scattered, looking for which direction it'd come from. Someone let out a strangled cry before Tony came around one of the large obstructions, revealing he'd been the one that let out the strangled sound.

"Dinozzo, you better tell me you're chokin' back tears of joy cause you or Kate shot Haswari." the older man warned.

"It's Kate boss." Tony managed. "They got her."

"Whaddya mean 'they got her' Dinozzo?" Gibbs growled, eyeing the blood covering the younger man's hands.

"I mean they shot her!" Tony snapped back, surprising everyone. They all made their way over to where Kate was lying on the ground. McGee was hovering over her, applying pressure to the gunshot wound in her chest.

"Ellie, call 911!" Gibbs barked. The blonde nodded, though he didn't see her. Tony knelt down beside Kate.

"Kate, stay awake. You hear me?" he told her.

"Tony..." Kate's voice was hoarse and cracked.

"Don't talk." Tony ordered. "You'll start coughing up blood and choke." His partner promptly closed her mouth, fighting the pain reverbrating through her body.

"911 is on their way." Ziva announced.

"You've gotta hold on for a while longer Katie. Promise?" Tony questioned. Kate gave a barely perceptible nod and weakly squeezed the hand Tony had slipped into hers. A few moments later, the paramedics burst onto the roof and ushered them all out of the way. Tony rode in the ambulance with her, and everyone else simply met up at the hospital.

*4 hours later*

The entire team, as well as Abby, Ducky, Gerald, and Kelly, was sitting in the waiting room with no information on Kate's condition. Well...most of them were sitting. Tony, Abby, and Kelly were pacing holes in the floor, Ziva, Ellie, Ducky, and Gerald were sitting in the hard plastic chairs of the room, and Gibbs was standing by a far wall, on the phone with Director Morrow.

"We don't have any information on her condition Tom."

"You should've called me as soon as the paramedics were contacted!"

"Forgot."

"You forgot to call and let me know that a terrorist had just shot an agent and was on the loose?"

"Yeah."

"Jesus Christ, Gibbs. I'll be there soon." The director slammed his phone down into the cradle before glancing at the woman sitting across from him.

"One of my agents was shot by a terrorist the team was chasing down four hours ago, and I'm only hearing about it now." he griped. "You sure you're ready for this?"

"Of course." the woman answered with certainty in her voice.

"Everything gonna be okay with..." Tom trailed off.

"We're both professionals."

"That's what you said last time." The woman glared at him.

"I can handle him just fine."

"Alright then. Welcome back to NCIS Director."

 **This is really short, but hopefully I can make the next one longer. This is kinda just an intro anyway, so...yeah.**


	2. Meet The New Director

"Gibbs, the director's here." McGee informed his boss. Gibbs nodded once, still watching over the rest of the team. However, as the clicking of heels was heard, everyone's heads snapped up. Everyone was silent as Tom Morrow entered the waiting room with a leggy redhead.

"What's _she_ doing here?" Kelly was the one to break the silence with a sentence full of venom.

"Kel." Gibbs barked. Everyone noticed his tenseness, but no one commented.

"Everyone, meet the new director of NCIS, Jennifer Shepard. Jenny, meet Agent Anthony Dinozzo, Agent Timothy McGee, Agent Ziva David, and Agent Eleanor Bishop. You already know Agent Gibbs and Kelly." Morrow introduced.

"You're retiring?" Gibbs asked tightly.

"I couldn't tell you Jethro, for obvious reasons." Morrow replied.

"We haven't gotten anything on Kate or Haswari." Gibbs told him, pushing off the wall and moving over to the lone window.

"Yeah. Kate may be dead, and now she's back. He might as well have shot me." Kelly growled, tears brimming in her eyes. Jenny flinched slightly, but if anyone noticed, they didn't say anything.

"McGee." Gibbs called. The young agent immediately went over to his boss's side.

"Yes boss?" he asked.

"Take the girls back to my house. Tony too." he said.

"Boss no!" Tony growled angrily.

"I'm not leaving!" Abby and Kelly cried indignantly together. Ellie and Ziva nodded in agreement. Gibbs muttered under his breath before moving away from the window.

"Alright, all of you, down on one knee." he ordered. They all gave him strange looks but did as they were told. He then got down on one knee with them.

"Campfire boss?" Tony asked, confused. Gibbs nodded.

"My version. Now I want all of you to listen to me, okay? I'm only going to say this one time." he began. All of them nodded to show they understood, and he continued.

"Kate is going to be just _fine_. Now, she's being treated by the best doctors in D.C., and I will call you all if there is any information. But for right now, there's nothing, and there's nothing that you can do for her, especially if you're all run down from stayin' up all night and worrying. She wouldn't want you all to make yourselves sick trying to stay up all night and day. Now you're all gonna go to my house, eat somethin', and get some sleep. Understood?" All of the 'kids' nodded slowly. Gibbs nodded once and stood, indicating that the rest of them could stand as well, and they did.

"You've all got your keys?" he checked. Everyone nodded.

"Alright then. Get outta here." McGee took Abby's hand and led everyone away.

"Jethro-" Morrow began.

"Ya coulda given me a heads up." Gibbs snapped, cutting him off.

"I did what I thought was best. Considering the high profile of the case, I thought it best not to give you any extra information to make your mind go off the case." his boss replied easily, already too used to Gibbs's personality. The man in question opened his mouth to speak again but was cut off by a doctor.

"Family of Caitlin Todd?" he called. Gibbs whirled around and stomped over to the man.

"You got information on 'er?" he demanded.

"Are you family?" the doctor asked. Gibbs growled angrily.

"Yeah, I'm her father. Now spit it out." he barked.

"The bullet penetrated her chest directly in the middle. It was in a very precarious place in her ribcage, positioned directly over the middle of her lungs. We had to perform surgery immediately to remove it, and the surgery went quite well..." the doctor trailed off.

"But?" Gibbs demanded.

"There were some complications. When she fell after being shot, it seems that she hit her head twice. We've determined that it was probably first on one of the large pipes around the roof and then the second time on the pavement of the roof. These blows to the head resulted in slight bleeding of the brain and a concussion. When she was brought here in the ambulance, she was already unconcious, and we deduced that she lost conciousness either during the ambulance ride or during her transfer _into_ the ambulance. The combination of the bleeding, the concussion, the trauma from being shot, and the trauma her body experienced due to no anesthesia during the surgery..."

"What? What happened to her?"

"I'm sorry sir. Your daughter has slipped into a coma."


	3. Protecting Kate

**I wrote this so fast, so I'm terribly sorry if it makes no sense. If it seems rushed, that's cause it is rushed. I literally wrote this in like half an hour maybe an hour but anyway, it was fast. Hope you enjoy anyway.**

*Gibbs Residence*

Kelly flopped down on the couch in the living room, and Abby flopped down beside her while Tony collapsed in an armchair, head in his hands. Ellie sat down gracefully in the other armchair, Ziva perched gracefully on the edge of the chair Tony was in, and McGee took the spot beside Abby.

"What are we gonna do?" Abby moaned.

"I don't know Abs." McGee said gently.

"What if she dies?" Kelly voiced everyone's fear.

"Don't talk like that!" Tony snapped, his head shooting up. A glare to rival Gibbs's was etched onto his features, and it actually kind of scared everyone, even Ziva.

"Tony..." Ellie began.

"No."

"We're just trying to say-" McGee tried.

"No."

"Honestly Tony, you've got to know-" Kelly took over.

"NO."

"That it's a possibility." Ziva finished.

" _No_. She will _not_ die." Tony growled menacingly. Abby nodded in agreement with him.

"Tony survived the plague just because Gibbs went to him and told him he wouldn't. Maybe Gibbs just needs to march into Kate's room like he did Tony's and order her not to die." the goth said.

"Guys, Tony did not live because Gibbs told him he would, he lived because his immune system was able to fight hard enough to beat the plague. That doesn't mean that Kate's body will be able to handle the trauma of a bullet to the chest." Ellie reasoned. Abby and Tony glared at her.

"Look, if you guys aren't going to be positive about this, I will _leave_." Abby threatened.

"Me too. I'm not gonna sit around and listen to you talk about Kate dying." Tony agreed angrily. Everyone threw their hands up in surrender.

"Okay. Sorry. We won't talk about it anymore." Kelly stated. "I'm going down to the basement for a while. Anyone wanna come?" Everyone else declined.

"Alright. You guys know there's food in the kitchen, alcohol in the liquor cabinent, and you know where the spare rooms are. Your sleeping arrangements vary sometimes, so I'll let you deal with that." the teen waved her hands and then retreated into the basement much like her father always did.

"I'm going to bed." Tony declared, standing up. "And if you guys don't mind, I'd really rather be alone." He then trudged up the stairs and collapsed on the bed, falling into a restless sleep.

*Back at the hospital*

"Jesus _Christ_!"

"Jethro, you've said that six times already." Gibbs turned his glare on his former partner and lover.

"I've got a surrogate daughter layin' in a hospital bed in a coma she may never come out of. I think I've got a right to be angry about it!"

"Yes. You do. But standing here swearing about it isn't going to help her!" Jenny shot back. Gibbs glared at her again before storming past her and Morrow, headed for the elevators. The two others followed.

"Jethro, where are you going?" they asked, exasperated.

"To find the guy who made the mistake of going after my family."

*Next day; NCIS Bullpen*

Tony and Abby entered the bullpen early, Kelly, McGee, Ellie, and Ziva on their heels, to find Gibbs already at his desk, files in front of him, glasses perched on the end of his nose, and telltale signs of no sleep plaguing his face.

"Daddy, what are you doing here so early? And why didn't you come home last night?" Kelly demanded. Gibbs barely glanced up at her before returning to his files.

"Busy." he grunted.

"How long have you been here boss?" McGee questioned, concerned.

"0000 this morning." Gibbs replied. Everyone's eyes widened.

"What happened to not running ourselves into the ground?" Ellie asked. Realization dawned on all of their faces.

"You found something out about Kate." Tony stated. Their boss's silence was confirmation enough.

"You've gotta tell us." Abby said. More silence.

"Boss, please." Tony pleaded. His voice was raw with emotion, and when Gibbs slowly looked up, he saw the pain in the younger man's eyes. He sighed and took his glasses off, rubbing his eyes.

"She got a concussion when she hit her head, and it made her brain bleed. She lost conciousness before arriving at the hospital. The combination of the concussion, the bleeding, the trauma from the bullet, and the trauma of the surgery to remove the bullet with no anesthesia caused her to go into a coma." he finally revealed. Abby's hands flew to her mouth. Kelly gripped the edge of her father's desk. McGee, Ziva, and Ellie all managed to keep blank expressions, but Tony was the worst. His eyes glazed over, and he dropped his backpack and coffee.

"Dinozzo." Gibbs barked. "Speak."

"I'll kill him."

"That's dangerous talk Tony."

"He hurt Kate."

"She wouldn't want you risking your job and your future."

"Too bad. If I get the chance, I _will_ kill him." And with that, the senior agent sat down at his desk, violently slamming his computer on.

"Get to work. All of you!" he yelled, and everyone listened, even Gibbs.

Everyone wanted to get the man that hurt their family member.

*Two weeks later*

"I FOUND HIM!" Those were the shouted words that greeted Special Agents Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Timothy McGee, Ziva David, and Ellie Bishop as they entered the NCIS bullpen at 0500 that Monday morning.

"Tony, how long have you been here?" Ziva questioned.

"All weekend. I FOUND HIM!" Tony shouted again both worried and excited.

"You found Haswari?" Gibbs asked. Tony nodded vigorously.

"Well, I didn't exactly get his location for this particular moment, but I found out where he's _going_ to be. I went over everything again, all the clues he left us, and I noticed something strange that he said. He said _my work's almost done. Just have to finish what I started._ We assumed that meant that he wanted to finish his attack on the government agencies, but then I thought of something. What if he meant something else? He knows every move we've made so far Gibbs, so he's gotta know that we've been taking rotations with Kate, and he's gotta know about her condition. Gibbs, he's planning to go to the hospital!" The agents' eyes widened. It all made sense. Ari was leading them on a wild goose chase to make them believe that he was going after the agencies when in reality he was planning to finish off Kate. The agents all turned and shot back into the elevator, guns holstered and ready to go.

"Ellie, get the hospital on the phone, tell them to lock it down and not to let anyone in or out until we get there. McGee, I want Haswari's picture put out to the hospital staff over that texting thing or email or _something_. You just make sure he doesn't get anywhere near Kate. And warn Abby since she's got the rotation today." Gibbs ordered.

Everyone quickly did as they were told, loading into the van when they arrived in the parking garage.

"Uh uh Ziva." Gibbs said when the woman in question began to climb into the passenger seat. He held the keys out to her. "Get us to that hospital NOW!" The Israeli woman snatched the keys and quickly made her way to the driver's side.

"Everybody hold on." she ordered before revving the engine and taking off.

They got to the hospital in record time, quickly flashing their badges at the guards posted at the entrance. Gibbs nodded for Ziva to take the west wing. Ellie was to take the east wing, McGee was to take the south wing, and Gibbs and Tony were taking the north wing, which was the one Kate was in.

"Boss, if I see him, I'm going to shoot him. I don't even care at this point if I lose my job." Tony told Gibbs seriously.

"I won't see anything if you won't." Gibbs replied, just as seriously, without missing a beat. Tony just nodded once. However, as they turned down the hallway that Kate's room was on...

Three gunshots rang out.

 **DUN DUN DUN! Cliffhanger! So, if it seems like the whole Ari storyline is moving too fast, I'm sorry. But this story wasn't supposed to focus on Twilight. It was supposed to focus on Jenny's return and hers, Gibbs's, and Kelly's adjustments to seeing each other again. But since I am a MASSIVE Tate shipper, it's probably gonna be split into that as well as a gigantic helping of Tate, complicated by the established Tiva, so very sorry if that's not what you guys were expecting. Hope you'll continue to read the story anyway, and I hope you all are enjoying it so far.**


	4. Protecting Abby

Gibbs and Tony bolted for Kate's room, bursting in with guns drawn. Kate was laying on the bed, the coma giving her the appearance of a peaceful sleep. However there was anything but peace in the room.

Abby sat shaking in a corner, the gun Gibbs had bought her for a birthday one year and taught her to shoot in her hand. Ari lay dead on the floor in front of the bathroom, three bullet wounds in his upper body. Gibbs and Tony lowered their weapons, and while Gibbs went to check on Abby, Tony made sure to check over Kate.

"Abs. Abs, tell me what happened." Gibbs ordered gently.

"T-timmy called and said that A-ari was planning to come to the hospital to finish k-killing Kate. And, ever since we s-started t-taking rotations with Kate, I've h-had the g-gun you got me. A-and I w-was about to f-fall asleep, s-so I g-got up to go to the b-bathroom and splash some w-water on my face, b-but when I opened the d-door, Ari was there! H-he p-pointed his gun at me when I s-started to s-scream. I backed up and r-reached for my gun as he p-pointed his at Kate, and I s-shot him. H-he didn't fall the f-first time, so I shot again. He still didn't f-fall, so I shot him one more t-time." Abby shakily explained. Gibbs sighed and held his hands out to help her up.

"Look at me Abby." he ordered. The goth did so, her eyes red and watery.

"I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay?" he said.

"O-okay." Abby replied.

"You didn't do this. I did. Understand?"

"What?" she squeaked.

"You. Did. Not. Do. This. I did." he repeated, looking straight into her eyes. Slowly, she nodded.

"Y-you got it el jefe." she then said, trying to portray her bubbly personality.

"Gimme your gun Abs." Gibbs then told her. She picked up the gun and handed it to him. He gripped it carefully, making sure that his prints would be on the gun.

"This thing ever been fired before today?" he asked. Abby nodded.

"I've gone to the shooting range a few times with the card you got me." she answered. Gibbs nodded once.

"The team'll be here in a few more minutes. Dinozzo, you make sure they understand that _I_ am the one that shot Ari. Got it?" he barked. Tony nodded before turning his attention back to Kate.

"I-is she okay Tony?" Abby asked. Tony looked at her, noting the deep concern on her face.

"She's fine Abs. Nothing happened to her. Thanks to you." he told her sincerely, eliciting a small smile from the goth. The three of them then shared a three-way glance of understanding just as Ziva, Tim, and Ellie appeared in the doorway.

"Is everyone okay?" McGee questioned.

"Yeah. We're good." Gibbs answered. "Bag this, would ya?" He held the gun out, and Ziva used some of the doctors' latex gloves to take it and place it into a ziploc bag that she found.

"Did he get to Kate?" Ellie asked.

"No. I shot him as he was coming out of hiding in the bathroom." Gibbs replied. He gave them all a look, knowing they didn't quite believe him. They all immediately understood. Protecting family was more important than anything else.

*NCIS; Director's Office*

"Jethro, are you sure about this?" Jenny questioned for the third time. Gibbs sighed, irritated.

"Yes Jen, I'm sure. Everything in that report is what happened." he said.

"Except that you're the one that shot Ari."

"I did shoot him." he insisted. Jenny stood and walked around the desk to stand in front of him.

"I remember a scene much like this six years ago." she said softly. He tensed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." he said tightly.

"You covered for me in Europe. I shot that cop, and we knew that they were eventually going to arrest me but you took my gun and made sure they thought it was you. And then you covered for me with Tom." she recalled.

"Jenny, I shot Ari. End of story." Gibbs snapped. She sighed again.

"Alright then. You know what I have to do if you stick to this story." she stated. He nodded once before handing her his gun and badge and walking out the door.

"Boss, what's going on?" Tony asked. Just his luck that the entire team, Abby, and Ducky would be in the bullpen at that exact moment. At least Kelly was at school. Everyone looked at him expectantly. He just shoved the key to his desk into Tony's hand.

"I'm being suspended. While the director and SecNav review the case and decide whether or not to fire me." he answered bluntly. Abby gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. Tears filled her eyes, and she ran over and threw her arms around him.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" she sobbed. Gibbs hugged her back gently.

"It's okay Abs. Woulda been worse for you. And don't you _dare_ go and do somethin' stupid like tellin' the truth." he warned. All he got were sobs, so he gently smacked the back of her head.

"You understand me Abs?" he questioned. She nodded.

"Show me your hands." he then said, knowing she'd be one to cross her fingers and do something stupid anyway. She held her hands up and spread her fingers apart.

"I p-promise." she said shakily. He nodded once and looked at Tony.

"Dinozzo, you're in charge until further notice. You make sure none of them do anything stupid." he ordered. The younger man nodded in understanding. Gibbs kissed Abby's cheek and gently pried her off.

And the entire team watched as the elevator doors closed.


	5. That'll Be The Day

**Next chapter, yay! This is the one with the first somewhat Jibbsy scene. Hope you enjoy!**

Director Jennifer Shepard stood in MTAC, the SecNav on the screen in front of her. They'd been arguing on the topic of whether or not to fire her former partner and ex-lover, one Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, for shooting and killing the FBI's only inside man in Al Qaeda.

"Sir, with all due respect, I cannot fire Agent Gibbs." Jenny insisted irritably.

"Jennifer, Agent Gibbs shot and killed the FBI's-" SecNav began.

"Only inside man in Al Qaeda, yes I know. But he did it in defense of another agent. Ari Haswari snuck into Bethesda and nearly shot an NCIS agent, who was comatose due to being shot by Haswari two weeks earlier." Jenny snapped. The SecNav sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Jennifer, this incident requires further contemplation." he stated.

"Firing Agent Gibbs would be a horrible move! He is the best agent that NCIS has!" Jenny growled. "Consider what you're trying to do!"

"I understand what you're saying Jennifer, and I will consider that while making my decision." And with that, he cut the video feed. Jenny sighed and sank down into one of the MTAC seats. She carefully contemplated her options before standing and exiting MTAC with a purpose.

*Gibbs Residence*

"Daddy, it's been a week." Kelly said softly from the landing of the basement. Gibbs looked up from sanding the boat.

"Kel, I'm fine." he told her.

"She shouldn't have suspended you." the teen said bitterly. Gibbs sighed. They'd already had this argument several times.

"She's just doin' her job Kelly." he replied.

"She left you in Paris with a _letter_ , and now she's your boss and trying to get you fired." Kelly said stubbornly. Gibbs growled and glared at her. Kelly growled herself and rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to the hospital." she snapped before stomping off, leaving her father to growl and grumble to himself.

*45 minutes later*

The clicking of her heels and the smell of her perfume alerted him to her presence. She made her way down the stairs carefully, but both of them stayed silent for a while. Finally, he broke it.

"What're you doin' here Jen?" he asked, setting the sander down and turning to face her. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts with an emerald green silk tank top. Her hair was wavy and pulled back into a high ponytail with a single strand falling on each side of her face, her usual sky high emerald green stilettoes encasing her feet. She had hoisted herself up to sit on the work table, reminding him of her probie days when they'd spend their days off in his basement together.

"I, uh, I finally got a final answer from SecNav. He cut the video feed in MTAC, so I went home and started blowing up his phone with calls and messages." she began.

"Okay. What's the verdict?" he inquired, leaning back lazily against the boat and crossing his arms across his chest. Her only response was to toss his badge at him.

"I put your gun on the end table by the couch." she said softly. He nodded once before pushing off of the boat.

"You want a drink Jen?" He reached behind her and grabbed two mason jars without waiting for an answer. He poured a healthy amount of bourbon into each and handed her one before taking a sip of his own. He boldly let his free hand fall and rest on her hip, and she let it happen, wrapping her own arm around his and letting her hand rest in the crook of his elbow.

"Thank you. For sticking up for me." he said sincerely. Her breath caught, and she shrugged slightly.

"You'd have done the same for me." she whispered. She unconciously ran her hand up his arm until her own was wrapped around his neck. He instictively stepped closer. The moment was ruined when Kelly stepped into the basement, completely oblivious to Jenny's presence.

"Dad, have you seen my phone? I can't find-" she stopped talking when she saw her father's boss.

"Jesus _Christ_ dad!" she shrieked.

"Kelly-" he started.

"NO! Kate's laying in the _hospital_ , and you're...trying to swap spit with a woman who _left you_ without a _word_ and didn't call or email or write or _anything_ for _six. Years_!" K`elly screamed, tears slipping down her face.

"Kelly Leann, that's enough!" Gibbs barked back. Kelly glared at him, tears still steadily falling. She then stomped over to the workbench, snatched up her phone, and left. Gibbs sighed as Jenny hopped off of the work table.

"I think I should go." she said quietly. If she stayed, she'd do something that could get them both into trouble. He nodded in acknowledgement. She picked up her purse and delicately put the strap on her shoulder before heading for the stairs. About halfway up, she paused and turned back around to look at him.

He looked the same as he did six years earlier. Same silver hair that she'd always loved, the same steel blue eyes that _still_ had the power to make her melt, the same muscular arms and chest. The same everything. And she still had no idea why she'd thought walking away from him had been the right decision. He looked up and caught her eyes, and she nearly ran to him...but she restrained herself.

"I'm sorry Jethro." she told him softly. "And before you spout Rule 6 at me, I should say that...I just wanted you to know that I _am_." It was silent for a moment, the pain and regret that was still burning hot inside her even after six years reflected in her eyes.

"It's okay Jen. I forgave you a long time ago." he replied just as softly. "And don't worry. Kelly'll forgive you in time." She could see the forgiveness in his own eyes, and she smiled.

"That'll be the day."


	6. Change

**Okay, we're doing a short time jump here guys. I'm not sure how long it takes for a bullet wound to the chest to heal, so I just went with it takes about two months. Sorry if that's not accurate, but oh well.**

 **And yes, I know Christmas has passed, but a scene in this chapter was meant to be a Christmas part, and I wanted to keep it that way.**

*6 weeks later*

It had been six weeks since Ari's death, eight since Kate's shooting. Since then, Jenny and Gibbs had been spending much more time together, much to the chagrin of Kelly, who was currently refusing to speak to her father.

Tony had been spending every free moment at the hospital with Kate, reading to her, talking to her, watching movies that she'd liked, anything that the doctors said could possibly help her to wake up. Ziva was becoming more and more frustrated due to this fact, as Tony continuously blew her off to stay in the hospital with Kate. He ate there, he slept there, and sometimes he even got Gibbs and Jenny's permission to work from there.

McGee and Abby were getting closer as a result of the shooting and the trauma Abby experienced from her first, and hopefully last, kill. McGee would go over to her apartment, or she would go to his, and they would play video games, watch movies, and play board games together all the time to help keep Abby's mind off of all the terrible events going on.

Ellie and Ziva were also becoming quite good friends as a result of everything, especially Tony's recent dismissal of Ziva. The two would hang out whenever Tony was at the hospital, so pretty much all the time, and they would talk about Tony's seeming devotion to Kate as well as the love lives of their co-workers.

Kelly was struggling to keep a grip on her life. She felt like her entire world was falling apart. Tony and Ziva were on the brink of a breakup, Abby and McGee were falling in love (not that she minded that part), her father seemed to completely dismiss her feelings on the Jenny issue, and Kate still wouldn't wake up. She was afraid of change. Little did she know, some BIG changes were about to take place.

*NCIS Bullpen; 20:59 hours*

It was a Friday night. But not just any Friday night. It was Christmas Eve, and Gibbs was allowing the team to go home at the time they were supposed to. As soon as the clock hit 21:00, Tony was packing up his bag.

"Tony, we are still going to your father's for Christmas this year, yes?" Ziva asked for confirmation, standing gracefully and beginning to pack her own bag.

"Uhh, no Zi. Sorry, my dad called and cancelled. Some work emergency or somethin'." Tony answered.

"Oh. Then I guess it is just us this year." his girlfriend commented.

"Actually, I don't think we should do Christmas together this year Zi. I've kinda got strep throat. Just got a call to confirm from my doctor about an hour ago." Tony said. Ziva narrowed her eyes at him.

"We have not spent Christmas apart in three years Tony." she said suspiciously.

"I know, I just don't want you to get sick." he replied. Gibbs, McGee, and Ellie subtly listened to the conversation.

"Tony, I do not get sick." Ziva told him.

"Well still. You can never be too careful." Tony insisted. That's when she saw them. He had a pile of movies in his backpack, and all of them looked too girly to be ones Tony enjoyed. Realization crept onto her face.

"You're going to spend Christmas at the hospital with Kate!" she accused. Tony sighed.

"Zi, she shouldn't be alone on Christmas." he said.

"And I should?" she demanded.

"No Ziva, and I know that you have people that wouldn't mind you spending Christmas with them. Kate doesn't have anyone. Her family disowned her when she left the Secret Service. And whenever she knew that _I_ was going to be alone on Christmas, she showed up at my door on Christmas Eve armed with my favorite movies and my favorite food. It's time I returned the favor." he replied.

"She's in a _coma_ Tony! She will not know if you did not spend Christmas with her!" Ziva yelled.

"I'll know Ziva! And I'm not doing this because I feel guilty, I'm doing it because I _want to_." Tony snapped back.

"So, what, you are just going to sit in her hospital room with a carton of Chinese food with one placed on the table for her, when you know she's not going to wake up and eat it, and watch chicken flicks all night?" Ziva growled. Tony glared at her, outraged that she would insinuate that Kate wasn't going to wake up.

"It's _chick_ flicks Ziva, and yeah. That's exactly what I'm going to do." he growled back. At that moment, his phone rang, and he picked it up and answered it, angering Ziva even more. However, the look on his face had everyone intrigued as he slammed the phone down, his eyes shining that a kid on Christmas morning.

"What is it Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Kate's awake!"


	7. Ziva's Heart

Kate Todd was frustrated. She had been told that after she was shot, she'd slipped into a coma and two months had passed. Her wound was healed, and now she was having to undergo a series of tests to see if she was fit to be released in 48 hours. The doctor was holding her hand and trying to help her down the hallway, and she just wanted to go home. However, when he entered the hallway leading to her room, all of the feeling in her body returned.

"Tony!" she cried. She released the doctor's hand and sprinted across the hallway into his arms, holding tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder.

"Oh God Katie." he whispered, tears filling his green eyes.

"I'm okay. I promise I'm okay Tony." she whispered back. They didn't even notice the rest of the team turn the corner as Tony pulled back and claimed her mouth. The mouths of the team all fell open as their co-workers kisses slowly and deeply in the middle of the hospital waiting room.

"Tony!" Ziva shrieked, tears building up in the Israeli's eyes. Both Tony and Kate jumped apart, guilt written on their faces.

"Ziva...I'm so sorry." Kate said.

"I am too." Tony added.

"How long has this been going on?" she demanded.

"It _hasn't_. That was our first kiss. Swear." Tony told her. "I just...realized how much she means to me when I saw her lying in a pool of her own blood on that roof."

"I will never forgive you two for this!" Ziva yelled angrily before storming out. On her way to the elevator, she passed Kelly, who had been called by her father.

"Whoa Zi, where's the fire?" the teen asked.

"Ask Tony and Kate!" Ziva spat, continuing on her way. Confused, Kelly rounded the corner and found a scene she hadn't been expecting. Kate had hugged everyone, even Jenny whom she didn't even know but could tell was everyone's friend, and was wrapped in Tony's arms once again. While the team was slightly upset that Tony had, albeit unintentionally, harshly broken Ziva's heart, they were happy for the two that a certain person (Abby) had always known would end up together. Kelly took in the scene carefully.

The way Kate and Tony looked at each other and the way Tony held her in his arms.

The way Abby and McGee stood so close that it was baffling how the two of them were the only ones who didn't notice they were perfect together.

But the worst, the way her father held Jenny's hand as though she _hadn't_ cruelly and deliberately destroyed their relationship.

*48 hours later*

Kate had been monitored closely by the doctors at Bethesda and had finally been cleared to leave. Per hospital policy, she was wheeled out in a wheelchair to Tony's waiting car. The man in question pressed a kiss to her lips as he helped her into the car and thanked the doctor for keeping an eye on her. On the drive home, Kate couldn't help but voice her feelings.

"I feel guilty Tony." she announced. He glanced at her to show he'd heard before turned his eyes back to the road.

"I know Katie. I do too." he admitted. "I kinda went about this the wrong way, huh?" Kate nodded slightly.

"I mean, I'm happy that you did. I'm ecstatic that you feel the same way I do, but I didn't want to hurt Ziva." she said quietly. Tony took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"Me neither. I mean, I love Zi, but it's more of a sisterly love, and I was trying too hard to make it feel different. I didn't think you felt the same way as me, so I pushed and tried to force my sisterly love for her to be the kind of love I feel for you. I knew deep in my heart that it wouldn't work, that you're the only woman I'll ever love, but because I felt like you wouldn't return my feelings, I ignored the voice in my head that was screaming that at me." he told her. Tears filled Kate's eyes at the heartfelt admission.

"I love you so much Tony." she whispered. He noticed her tears and pulled over to a rest stop that they were conveniently passing. He ignored her confused expression and got out, going around to her side and opening the door. He then offered her his hands, which she took, and pulled her to stand in front of him before taking her face into his hands while gently wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

"I love you more than anything and anyone in the world Caitlin Elizabeth Todd." he said seriously, looking deep into her chocolate brown eyes, which filled with more tears at his raw, honest admission.

And with that, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard, and he kissed her back with just as much fervor.

A silent promise that neither one would ever take the other for granted again.

 **Yay! Tate is finally together! So sorry to my Ziva fans or Tiva shippers out there, but I did warn you! Next chapter may be up tomorrow, depending on if I work enough on my homework. Either way it will probably focus on the developing Jibbs friendship and Kelly's deep seated hatred of the fact that it's happening!**


	8. Coming Around

**Gibbs's rules are listed in this chapter. Since some are unknown, I used some life rules I found on the internet and made some up. And also, since I'm only 15, I have filtered a couple of the ones that have words and/or phrases that I am not allowed to use.**

*Two weeks later*

It was meant to be a quiet weekend at the Gibbs household. Kelly was staying over at Maddie's, which meant he could freely bring Jenny over and have a nice night with an adult friend. The two of them were sitting on the couch together, some random show playing softly on the tv, with his arm around her shoulders.

Jenny, her legs pulled up onto the couch beside her, leaned her head onto his shoulder. She'd been floating in between conciousness for about two hours, and Gibbs was about to tell her to just go to bed when the front door opened and two teenage girls' voices entered his house.

"Mads, I've just gotta get my brush. My dad's probably in the basement by now." Kelly's voice floated through. Gibbs glanced down at Jenny sleeping peacefully against his side and braced himself for a fight with his teenage daughter. As the girls entered the living room to get to the stairs, they stopped and stared at him and Jenny.

"Hey Gunny." Maddie finally said with a smile. Gibbs nodded at her.

"Maddie." he replied. Kelly scowled at the scene in front of her.

"So this is what you do when I'm not around?" she snapped.

"Kelly, don't start." he warned.

"Dad, you're not _listening_ to me! It's like you don't even care about my feelings!" Kelly yelled.

"Shh!" Gibbs growled immediately. Kelly glared at him.

"Oh yeah. Wouldn't want to wake the director. Your _boss_." she said loudly. Jenny stirred slightly, snuggling further into his side.

"Jethro," she mumbled sleepily, eyes still closed. "Gimme the blanket back." Gibbs smiled, despite the situation.

"Yeah, ok Jen." he said, in order to appease her. He grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over her, not pointing out to her that she hadn't had the blanket on when she'd fallen asleep nor at any other point all night. Just an old habit from Paris, he supposed.

"Hey Jenny, how's the couch feel? Comfortable enough for you?" Kelly called, even louder than before. Gibbs glared at her, attempting to keep Jenny asleep, but to no avail. Her eyes fluttered open and landed on him, green emeralds meeting cobalt blues.

"Jethro?" she questioned sleepily.

"Hi Jenny." Kelly interrupted loudly. Jenny's eyes snapped to the two teenagers standing in the doorway of the living room, and she sat up quickly.

"Kelly? Maddie? I thought you two were staying at her house tonight!" she said.

"Yes, so I assume that means that you thought it was safe to come over and sneak around with my dad?" Kelly sneered.

"Kelly, I-" Jenny began.

"I don't wanna hear it. You have no right to be here. None at all! You left! You made your decision, and you can't change it now!" Kelly snapped.

"Kelly Leann, that's enough!" Gibbs yelled. The girl in question screamed in frustration and stomped out of the house, Maddie close behind mouthing an apology. Jenny sighed, running her hands through her hair.

"I'm sorry about her Jen." Gibbs sighed, placing a hand on her back gently.

"Don't apologize." she said absentmindedly. He smiled gently at the fact that she still remembered the rules.

"You know, the team breaks that one a lot these days." he told her. She smiled.

"You always headslapped us when we broke the rules. Like that time I left my knife at home. I had a headache all day because of you!" she recalled indignantly. Gibbs laughed.

"Hey, that suspect nearly shot you at point blank. If you'd had your knife, you coulda gotten out of it." he replied.

"So you headslapped me to the point of a headache because I was stupid?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and daring him to agree.

"No, I headslapped you because I was worried about you Jen." he answered seriously. Her eyes softened, and she leaned into his side again as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Jethro, I really am sorry I left." she whispered. He kissed her head gently.

"Rule 65 Jen." he replied quietly. She allowed a small smile to grace her face.

"I was trying to perform Rule 68." she replied softly. Then she full on grinned. "Ya know, these rules really get in the way. Especially of each other." He grinned back at her.

"Yeah, I wonder who ever came up with 'em." he said, feigning innocence. She burst into laughter, making him smile even wider. He'd always loved to hear her laugh. She settled back down after a moment, seriousness setting in once more.

"Jethro, I don't want to mess up your relationship with Kelly." she stated.

"You're not Jen." he replied.

"She hates me. You mean the world to her, and I don't want that to change because you and I are spending so much time together." she told him.

"Jen look at me." he said. When she wouldn't, he nudged her a little so she'd sit up. He gripped her arms gently and turned her around towards him, though she still wouldn't look him in the eye, so he put two fingers under her chin and lifted her head.

"She does not hate you Jen. She _will_ come around, but not if you _stop_ coming around. You got that?" he asked gently but still firmly. She nodded, staring deep into his eyes.

"Alright." she breathed. "How's dinner tomorrow sound?"

And they both burst into laughter once more.


	9. The First Big Step

**Sorry about saying that Gibbs's rules were listed in the last chapter! I thought I was going to be putting them in there, but I ended up not putting them in. They'll be put in at some point, and I'm not going to say when because if I do, I'll end up not putting them in.**

 ****Jenny's "director" behavior will be SO different in this! It's AU, so it's going to be completely different from the show.**

Kate had finally been cleared to go back to work, so long as she took it easy for a few days more. She'd stayed the night at Tony's, so he was able to help make sure she was feeling well enough to go in. When she insisted that she was, they got in the car and headed to NCIS.

Ziva glared daggers at them as they walked in, which they promptly ignored. However, they didn't ignore the redhead sitting in Gibbs's chair, sipping his coffee.

"Uh, director?" Kate questioned. Tony had filled her in on everything that had happened since she'd been shot.

"Yes Agent Todd?" Jenny replied, taking another sip of Gibbs's coffee.

"Um, that's Gibbs's coffee. And his desk." Tony said.

"Yes Agent Dinozzo, I'm aware." Jenny told him, setting the coffee down and kicking her jean clad legs up onto his desk. The entire team, even Ziva, gaped at her. They heard the elevator doors ding and knew that Gibbs had arrived. He walked around his desk and smacked her in the back of the head.

"Rule 23 Jen." She glared up at him and gave a noise of indignation when she saw the cup of coffee in his hand.

"Why must you ruin my fun by having _another_ cup of coffee?" she pouted.

"Rule 34." he grinned. She narrowed her eyes and pulled her legs off of his desk. She stood up, and even with her heels, she still didn't meet his eyes.

"I might just have to heed Rule 16 soon." she said in a dangerously low tone, a playful spark in her eyes.

"Lookin' forward to seein' you try Jen." he smirked at her. She huffed and turned on her ridiculously high heels, heading for the stairs.

"You've already broken Rule 50!" he called, just to rile her up even more. He succeeded, as she turned and glared at him again.

"Oh well!" she called back before continuing on her way upstairs. Gibbs grinned to himself and shook his head, sitting down at his desk. The team was still gaping, not believing that their boss and the boss's boss had just had a _playful_ argument in the middle of the bullpen.

"What're you starin' at? Get to work!" Gibbs's command broke them all out of their trances, and they scrambled to sit down and begin working. Gibbs nodded once in approval, and then got to work himself.

*That night*

It was late that night, and Gibbs was the only agent left in the bullpen. He had put off his paperwork for the day in favor of going upstairs and bugging Jenny and was then stuck doing it in the late night. Kelly, who was giving her father the silent treatment, was staying at Maddie's again, so he didn't have to worry about her being home alone. He heard her heels clicking against the stairs and glanced up.

She was leaning against the rail watching him with a grin on her face.

"Don't you say a word." he warned.

"Who? Me?" she asked, feigning innocence. "I would never say anything about karma kicking your butt for bugging me all day." He growled under his breath and glared at her, which only succeeded in making her laugh.

"You feel up to some company?" He gave a noncommittal shrug, which she took to mean yes. She trekked the rest of the way down the stairs and walked around his desk, hopping up onto it. He glanced warily at her as she smiled innocently.

"What'd you do?" he demanded.

"I didn't do anything!" she cried indignantly. He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'tell that to your little prank in '98', but she chose to ignore that...for his sake. "I just wanted to come visit you. Something wrong with that?" He looked at her suspiciously again, and she rolled her eyes.

"I swear I didn't do anything!" she said. He grinned at her, and she narrowed her eyes, realizing he'd been playing her.

"Rule 36." he taunted. She whacked him in the shoulder, pouting.

"You comin' over for dinner tonight?" he then asked. She nodded.

"You're absolutely _sure_ that Kelly isn't going to walk in tonight?" she checked. He nodded.

"Positive." he answered.

"Okay then. You can leave the paperwork till tomorrow." she said. He grinned and threw his pen down, turning off his lamp and helping her off of the desk.

That night, they enjoyed a nice, quiet, uninterrupted dinner together. They, of course, gravitated to the basement with Gibbs even re-teaching her how to sand the boat. They each had a couple sips of bourbon and were laughing happily through the evening. Near 1 a.m., Jenny ended up pressed against one of the ribs of the boat as Gibbs held onto her hips. She looked up into his eyes and saw a longing she hadn't seen since Europe. She tentatively leaned up and pressed her lips gently to his.

She then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, letting him know that she was giving him the green light to kiss her back, which he did happily. He threaded his hands through her hair, one hand on the back, pushing her closer. They pulled back for air, and he looked her in the eyes, searching.

"You sure Jen?" he asked.

"More than I ever have been in my life." she answered breathlessly before pulling him in for another kiss. One that would lead them farther down the road that both had once thought to be long lost.

 **Sorry about the shortness, but I hope all my Jibbs lovers enjoyed this chapter!**


	10. The Hickey

**Yes, Ziva is still Mossad (or technically was Mossad, but whatever). I'm just saying that she and Ari weren't related, she and Jenny didn't work together, and she came to NCIS before Jenny.**

The next morning, Gibbs and Jenny arrived to work together to find a situation that they did not want to deal with.

It was an all out war in the MCRT section of the bullpen. Ziva stood with her teeth bared, aiming pens, paper clips, and anything else she could find at Kate, who was holding her own against the trained assassin, throwing back her own office supplies. Tony was futilely attempting to break the two women up. Tim and Abby were watching helplessly, both secretly rooting for Kate, with Ellie standing nearby rooting for Ziva.

"Ziva, knock it off!" Tony yelled once more, exasperated. Ziva turned on her now ex-boyfriend, eyes blazing.

"We broke up _two weeks ago_ Tony! And you have the _audacity_ to parade your girlfriend around as if my feelings do not even matter!" she shrieked angrily. As the two bosses got closer, they could see the reason for the war outbreak.

A hickey on Kate's neck could clearly be seen, and the woman's lipstick could be seen on Tony's mouth. Gibbs sighed harshly and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. Jenny put a hand on his arm, effectively calming him down. The both of them stormed into the bullpen and stepped between the two women's desks.

"Stop. Now." Gibbs growled. Both women slowly put their projectiles down, staying silent.

"Explain." he snapped as Jenny slid her hand into his in another successful attempt at calming him down. "Ziva, go." The Israeli took a deep breath and launched into her story.

"I came in, and the two of them were acting like teenagers! She was sitting on his desk, and they were kissing, and he kissed her neck, and she ended up with _that_!" she finished by harshly jabbing her finger on Kate's hickey. Kate smacked her hand, hard, glaring at the other woman. Ziva growled but was stopped by Gibbs.

"Kate, go." he ordered.

"We didn't get to spend any time together yesterday because he worked late! He said he didn't want to wake me, so we agreed to meet here early this morning to spend some time together before everyone got here, and yeah, we made out a little. But we're lovers, it's not a big deal. She went psychotic when she walked in, and she started throwing pens at me!" the brunette cried. Ziva attempted to lunge for Kate but was caught by Gibbs.

"Stop it!" he barked. "Both of you, go home now!" Both women then packed up their stuff, about to head to the elevator. However, Tony stopped Kate by wrapping his arms around her chest gently from behind.

"Wait until she's gone." he whispered, kissing her earlobe gently. She nodded, placing her hands on his arms. Ziva glared at them before storming out of the bullpen. Once they were sure she was gone, Tony kissed Kate softly before sending her on her way as well.

"All of you get to work. We'll all sit down and resolve this once they've both cooled down." Gibbs said, finality in his tone. The rest nodded and went about their work as their boss shared a look with Jenny, who was ascending the stairs to the catwalk. She gave him a reassuring look, and that got him through the rest of the day.

*Kate's apartment that night*

Tony used his key to open the door, smiling when he saw his girlfriend curled up and asleep on her couch. The book she'd been reading was lying in a heap on the floor, indicating that she had been reading when she fell asleep. He picked the book up and placed it on the coffee table before gently covering her with a blanket and sitting down in an armchair. After about half an hour, he heard a soft moan and looked over just in time to see Kate's brown eyes blinking open.

"Tony?" she asked, still half asleep.

"Yeah Katie, I'm here." he smiled. She sat up rubbing her eyes, the blanket falling into her lap. Her hair was messy, her makeup was gone, and she was dressed in her pajamas (an old Baltimore P.D. shirt of his and a pair of black shorts), but to him she'd never looked more beautiful.

"How long have you been here?" she questioned.

"Bout half an hour." he answered. Her eyes widened.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" she demanded. He laughed lightly at the cute, annoyed expression her face before getting up and kissing her forehead.

"Because you looked so peaceful, and you needed the rest." he answered. "Now, how about dinner?" She nodded slowly, acknowledging that he was right about her needing the rest.

"What are we having?" He grinned. To surprise her, he'd gone out and gotten dinner from a place she loved but couldn't afford on a regular basis. When he pulled the bag out from the fridge, she gasped, covering her mouth.

"You got dinner from Olive Garden?" she whispered. He nodded.

"Chicken and gnocchi soup. Your favorite." he elaborated. He barely had time to put the bag down before she had jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him passionately.

"I love you so much." she breathed, leaning her forehead against his.

"I love you too." he replied, kissing her gently.

 **Sorry it's so short. I just wanted to get something up and also touch on Ziva's feelings on the new relationship. And yes, I know Olive Garden is not as fancy as other places, and not that expensive to some, but I love Olive Garden, and I was too lazy to look up fancy restaurants.**


	11. Surprise!

**Wow, this story has been neglected. Sorry guys. Hope you're still with me. This one is kind of short and is Kate/Tony centered.**

A few weeks had passed. No more incidents had occured between Kate and Ziva, but the latter still shot daggers from her eyes at her ex and his girlfriend constantly. However, she was slowly healing.

Jenny and Gibbs were growing closer and closer, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Kelly and the rest of the team.

Kelly herself was just growing angrier at the older redhead. She felt that Jenny had no right to barge in on hers and her father's life again and pretend that nothing had happened six years earlier.

Kate had been feeling slightly ill as of late, but she had assured anyone who asked that it was nothing. She had a feeling that she knew what was going on, but she was slighty terrified for her feeling to be true. It was so early in hers and Tony's relationship, and if her suspicions were correct, it would only add salt to Ziva's still fresh wound. The former Secret Service agent had decided that it was time to find out what was going on with her.

As she sat in the bathroom, the little white stick mocking her from the toilet paper holder, her nerves shot sky high. She wasn't sure how she felt about all of this. Of course, she would be excited it if was true, but she would also feel guilty. Ziva hadn't done anything wrong, and she knew that she and Tony had done the former Mossad agent wrong. Ziva didn't deserve to have Kate and Tony's relationship flaunted in her face. Finally, her phone beeped, and she took a deep breath before picking up the white stick.

Two pink lines.

Her mouth went dry, and she froze. Her first thought was how she was going to tell Tony. Would he be excited? Would he be horrified? Did he even want kids?

She was broken out of her thoughts by a knock on the bathroom door.

"Babe? You okay? You've been in there a really long time." Tony's voice floated through the door.

"Uh, yeah. I'm good. Hold on, I'm coming out." Kate called back. She stood up and threw the stick away, taking careful precautions to hide it under other trash, before opening the bathroom door and smiling at her boyfriend.

"Sorry. Just another one of those bouts of sickness." she breezed by him, headed for her desk.

"Kate, are you sure you're okay? You've been getting sick a lot lately." Tony said, concerned. Kate smiled and nodded.

"I'm okay. Promise." And with that, the two went back to work.

*2 days later*

Kate sat in the exam room of her doctor's office, bouncing her crossed legs. Finally, the woman, Dr. Hart, came back with her bloodwork.

"Congratulations Kate! You are indeed pregnant!" she smiled enthusiastically. Kate gave her a small smiled, which concerned the doctor.

"Are you alright? Are you not happy?" she asked.

"Oh, no, no, I am." Kate was quick to assure her. "I'm just not sure how my boyfriend is going to take the news." Dr. Hart nodded in understand and wished her luck before sending her off with presciptions for prenatal vitamins. Kate hurried back to NCIS, ready to just get things over with a tell Tony the news.

On her way up, she nearly ran smack into Ziva. The Israeli woman eyed her up and down warily before pressing the button for the bullpen.

"You seem jumpy." Ziva noted, not taking her eyes off of the steel doors in front of her. Kate glanced over at the other woman.

"Just excited. And a little nervous. I have something that I need to tell Tony." she replied.

"You are pregnant." Kate did a double take.

"What? How did you know that?" Ziva shrugged.

"You have all of the symptoms. Morning sickness, aches and pains, moodiness..." she listed off.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Kate replied irritably.

"See? Moodiness." Ziva said. Kate glared at her.

"So, are you gonna try to take my head off since I'm pregnant a few weeks after Tony and I got together?" she asked, only half joking. After a moment, Ziva slowly shook her head.

"No. I do not like that Tony left me for you. I do not like that the two of you got into a relationship so quickly after he left. I do not like that I have to see the two of you together every day." Ziva answered. Kate sighed in frustration. "But, I am getting over it. And I am happy for you."

"Thank you Ziva." Kate said sincerely. Ziva nodded once with a small smile, just as the elevator doors opened. Kate walked over to Tony's desk confidently, gaining the attention of Gibbs, Jenny, McGee, Kelly, and Ellie, who were all in the bullpen. Tony looked up at his girlfriend.

"Yes?" he drew out the word.

"I'm pregnant."


	12. The Ring

**I didn't mention it last chapter, but Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy are there with the others. Also, the ex-wives are mentioned here, and I would just like to say that I mixed up the order on purpose. And yes, I know that the second and third wives came after Jenny, but I'm changing that.**

Tony stared blankly at Kate, whose confidence was deteriorating rather quickly.

"You're what?" he finally said.

"Pregnant." she repeated. "I'm pregnant."

"As in, with a baby?" There was a collective rolling of eyes in the bullpen.

"No Tony, she's pregnant with a fishcat." Ziva said sarcastically.

"Catfish." the others corrected simultaneously. The Israeli waved them off, waiting to see if Tony would do anything else. He didn't disappoint as he slowly stood up and walked around the desk, moving his hands cautiously towards Kate's stomach. As soon as his hands made contact, he broke out into a wide grin before picking her up and spinning her around.

"I'm gonna be a dad!" he yelled. Everyone breathed out a collective sigh of relief before moving to congratulate the couple. Kelly smiled happily at two of her favorite people, noting that at least Ziva seemed to be dealing with the couple better. However, her smile faded as her eyes landed on her father and Jenny. Her father's arm was slipped casually around the older redhead's shoulders, and Jenny was nestled comfortably against his side, her hand resting on his chest and her own arm around his back.

"Dad, I'm going home. I have homework." she said irritably, snatching up her bag.

"Okay Kel." he replied, glancing at her suspiciously. She rolled her eyes, heading for the elevator.

She watched the others rejoicing, noticing the light kiss her father placed to the side of Jenny's head, and slammed her fist against the wall of the elevator as the doors closed.

Well, if he wouldn't realize that he was making a mistake, she was just going to have to make sure that he didn't make it.

*A week later*

The weekend had arrived, and Jenny and Gibbs were spending it together. Kelly had been spending a lot more time at Maddy's lately, so it gave the two of them plenty of opportunities to be together. Currently, Jenny had talked him into watching The Young and the Restless...a show that he despised.

"Come on Jethro, this show is classic!" the woman in question insisted.

"This show is _stupid_." he grumbled as two of the characters began arguing on the screen. Jenny shook her head fondly, turning the tv down and swinging her leg over his to straddle him.

"Well then what do you suggest we do instead?" she asked, her lips hovering dangerously close to his. His only answer was to close the virtually nonexistent gap between them and capture her lips with his. Without breaking the kiss, she began to slowly pop open the top buttons of his shirt. She pulled back briefly to pull her overshirt over her head, leaving her in a tank top and jeans.

"Hey! Break it up!" Kelly's voice caused them to spring apart. Gibbs sighed and rebuttoned his shirt from the middle up as Jenny smoothed her hair.

"I thought you were staying with Maddy again." Gibbs said. Kelly shrugged noncommitally.

"We had to cancel for tonight. I had something I needed to do." she replied.

"Which was?" her father raised an eyebrow.

"Just dig up some old photos. By the way, I need you to retreat to the basement." Kelly answered.

"Why?"

"Jenny and I need some...girl talk time." she replied cryptically. Gibbs glanced at Jenny warily, but she just gave him a reassuring look.

"It's okay." she told him quietly. He nodded and kissed the side of her head before heading down to the basement. Kelly stalked into the living room once he was gone and slammed a thick photo album down onto the coffee table.

"You're gonna meet some people tonight. And learn about everything you ruined." she said menacingly before flipping open to a page containing pictures of Gibbs and another redheaded woman.

"Her name is Rebecca. She was the first wife after you left. They got married three months after knowing each other and barely lasted for two after that because she caught him watching home movies of you and then he wouldn't tell her who you were." Kelly explained harshly. She then flipped several pages and landed on pictures of another redhead.

"Stephanie. The second wife. She was the sweetest woman you'll ever meet. She found pictures of the two of you in Paris and _cried_ when dad yanked them away and told her not to go through certain boxes. They lasted six months before she couldn't take the secrecy anymore." She flipped the pages again to yet another redhead.

"My favorite wife of all, Diane. She lasted the longest. Managed to make it two years with daddy before she couldn't take it anymore. I was old enough then that I was able to decide what I thought was right. And I told her about you and about mom. Dad was furious, but Diane fought tooth and nail to save their relationship. She was my favorite because I could tell that she really loved dad, and that, to some degree at least, he loved her too. But it finally became too much for her when she found out that he was holding on to that necklace you're wearing right now." Jenny subconciously brought her hand up to clutch the necklace that Jethro had bought her in Paris.

"Yeah, I know about that too. He bought you that, and you left it in the envelope with the letter." Kelly said, her eyes flashing dangerously. She flipped through the photo album one last time, this time landing on Jethro and a blonde woman.

"Hollis. Not a wife, but she came close. He seemed almost as serious about her as he was about you, and he even asked me to help him pick out a ring for her. But she found the one he'd planned to give to you and thought it was hers. She pushed and pushed until he finally told her about you and the ring, and she told him he had to let one of you go. Obviously, he let her go."

"What ring?" Jenny asked shakily. She had a sinking feeling about the ring, but she hoped to God it wasn't true.

"Shiny gold band, freaking ginormous emerald in the middle, and a smaller yet still huge diamond on either side of the emerald. He wouldn't tell me how much it cost, but I could tell it had to of cost a lot." Kelly replied, eyeing the older redhead with disdain. Jenny closed her eyes, flashing back to Paris.

 _She, Jethro, and Ducky were walking the streets, window shopping as they went along. A glint from a jewelry store caught her eye, and she stopped, gasping at a beautiful ring on display._

 _A large emerald sat in the middle with a diamond on each side, sitting atop a shiny gold band._

 _"Oh it's beautiful." she breathed as Jethro and Ducky walked up beside her._

 _"And quite expensive." Ducky muttered. Jenny's heart sank as she looked at the price tag. 8,000 euros. 9,120 US dollars._

 _"Guess it's not_ _ **that**_ _pretty." she muttered. Gibbs laughed lightly, kissing the side of her head. "Let's just go get coffee."_

 _"You two go on. I'll catch up in a minute." he said, adding in the excuse of needing the bathroom. He walked into the jewelry store and came back with a black box in his pocket. A black box that Jenny never got to see._

"Oh dear God." the redhead whispered. She gripped the back of the couch for support before jumping up and stumbling to get her purse and coat.

"I have to go." she said.

"Yeah, you're pretty good at that." Kelly sneered. Jenny ignored the jest and practically ran out of the house and to her car.

"Oh God." she breathed, tears filling her eyes.

' _He was going to propose. He was going to propose, and you left._ ' a voice in her mind whispered. She pulled into the nearest parking lot and slammed her hands on the steering wheel.

"You idiot!" she yelled to the empty space of her car before resting her forehead on the steering wheel, tears streaming down her cheeks. She stayed like that for a while, until a knock on the window alerted her to another presence. She looked up and was shocked to see Kate staring back at her. She hadn't even realized she'd pulled into the parking lot of the other woman's apartment building.

"You okay Jenny?" Kate asked in concern once the redhead got out of the car.

"Not really. Story of my life though." she laughed wryly as she and the younger woman began walking towards the front of the apartment building. Kate opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could, both women felt a hard object come in contact with the back of their heads. Jenny looked up for a moment after she hit the ground and saw a hooded figure.

Then everything went black.


	13. The Captors

**I apologize for the weird rearrangement of the timeline guys. I know that Shannon and Kelly had been dead for more than eight years when Jenny arrived at NCIS as director probably even when she first became an agent, but let's just pretend that this timeline makes sense.**

The first thing that Jenny realized when she woke was that her head hurt. A lot. She lifted a hand to touch it and came to her second realization. She was chained to a wall. Panic spread through her body, but she quickly stamped it down and actually touched her head this time. She could feel dried blood on the back, and it was throbbing.

' _Okay Jenny._ ' she thought. ' _Do. Not. Panic. That is the_ _ **first**_ _thing Jethro taught you about this kind of situation._ ' The thought of him made her head hurt even more in addition to the pang it sent through her heart. She realized that in order to think calmly and rationally through this situation, she would need to not think about him.

The low moan that began to come from next to her helped that quite a bit. The redhead's eyes immediately shot to the side, and she had to fight to hold back a gasp.

Kate lay next to her, also chained to the wall and with dried blood on the back of her head.

"Kate." she whispered gently, trying to help the younger woman wake while making sure that, if their captor(s?) were in the room, they couldn't be heard. "Kate."

"Jenny?" Kate's whisper came back after a moment.

"Yes, it's me."

"Where are we?"

"I don't know yet." Jenny thought hard, trying to remember what had happened. She'd been at Jethro's. Kelly had walked in on them and demanded to speak with her alone. Kelly had shown her the photo album of Jethro's ex-wives and ex-girlfriend and told her about Jethro buying the ring in Paris. She'd fled to her car and ended up in the parking lot of Kate's apartment building. The two of them had started to walk to the stairwell and had been hit in the back of the head.

"What happened?" Kate asked, making a pained face when she sat up.

"Someone hit us in the back of the head and brought us here." Jenny answered, looking around to see if she could get any indication of where they were. She spotted her purse across the room, thrown carelessly next to the door. Kate's was next to it, and the contents of both were dumped out and looked like they'd been rifled through.

Their cellphones were nowhere in sight.

"Jenny, what if the fall affected the baby?" Kate's concerned question caused Jenny to break out of her observations.

"We will get out of here and get you to a hospital to make sure that the baby is alright." she promised.

"But how do you know that we're going to get out of here?"

"Don't talk like that Kate." Jenny said immediately.

"Jenny...the team's had a lot of near misses in the past couple years. Ducky getting kidnapped and almost killed, me, Ducky, and Gerald getting held hostage by Ari in autopsy, Ari kidnapping me again, Tony getting the plague, Ari shooting me...I'm not sure how much more we can take. How much more _I_ can take. This may be it for me." the brunette said in a defeated tone. Jenny shook her head, sitting up further and looking straight at Kate.

"You cannot do this now Kate." she told the other woman firmly. "You cannot give up when you have so much to fight for. As soon as Tony realizes something is wrong, he will come after you and your baby. He loves you, and he is _so_ excited to be a father. He will not rest until he finds you. But in order for him to find you, you _cannot_ give up. Do you understand me?"

"Yes." Kate answered. "Yes, I understand."

"Good."

*Gibbs Residence*

As soon as the house went quiet, Gibbs knew that something had to be wrong. Either one or both of the girls was crying, or one of them had left. He slowly exited the basement and went into the living room to find Kelly sitting alone on the couch, an open photo album sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

"What happened? Where's Jenny?" he asked, inching closer.

"She left." Kelly replied quietly as her father finally got close enough to catch a glimpse of _which_ photo album his daughter had open.

"Tell me you didn't show that to her." Kelly nodded slowly.

"Why did you do that Kelly?" he swore. "She didn't want to see all that."

"I just..." she trailed off.

"You just what?" The young girl could tell that her father was angry, and it just made her feel even more guilty.

"I just wanted her to see. I wanted her to _see_ everything that she ruined for you by leaving. Everything she ruined for _us_." she finally confessed, feeling like a child again. Gibbs swore again.

"Kelly, Jen didn't ruin anything for us. I did that. Okay? I pushed them away, and I ruined the relationships. It's not Jenny's fault. You've got to let go of all of this misplaced anger you've got toward her. I know that you missed her, and I know that you were hurt when she left without actually saying goodbye. And yeah, I know you've got some anger towards her too for that, but I know you don't have _this much_ anger towards her." At that, Kelly burst into tears.

"I don't daddy!" she sobbed. "I'm scared!" Her father sighed harshly.

"I know Kel." he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing Jenny's number. She didn't answer, so he tried again. Still no answer. One more call. No answer. "Something's wrong. Get Tony on the phone."

"What? What do you mean something's wrong?" Kelly sniffed.

"I mean something's wrong Kel! Get Dinozzo on the phone!"

*Unknown Location*

Jenny could faintly hear her ringtone going off. It was slowly getting louder, which meant that their captor was coming for a visit.

"Jenny? Do you hear that?" Kate's voice broke through the otherwise silent room.

"Yeah. It's my phone." she answered. "It's probably Jethro calling." Before Kate could answer, the sound of a metal door opening was heard, and a bright light penetrated the room.

"Oh good!" a male voice said. "You're awake. Seems your boyfriend's trying to get ahold of you Director." Jenny glared at the man, who was hidden in the shadows now that the door was closed once more.

"Who are you?" The man chuckled lowly.

"Now, now Jennifer. Where's the fun in telling you that?"

"They're going to come for us."

"They can try." the man shot back. "Your precious lover boys don't stand a chance at finding you."

"Alejandro!" The distinctly female voice startled both Jenny and Kate. "Stop conversing with them!"

"They'll be dead soon anyways Paloma." the man, now identified as Alejandro, waved the order off. The woman, Paloma, stepped into the room and stood beside Alejandro.

"You know that we must wait for Agent Gibbs to find the clues we left before we can kill them." she hissed. "It is better to just leave them alone, especially since you've already completely screwed up the one thing I put you in charge of!"

"I got her didn't I?" Alejandro retorted.

"Yes, but you also got the other one!"

"They were together! Did you want me to leave the other one as a witness?"

"Hey!" Kate yelled. "Which one of us were trying to take anyway?" Their captors stopped their arguing then.

"The director." Alejandro answered. The two women heard a sound that they assumed meant that Paloma had hit him.

"Kindly stop revealing every detail of our plan to the hostages." she snapped. "Gibbs will find us soon, and we can take what we came here for."

And that's when it clicked for Jenny.

*NCIS; 2 days later*

The entire team had returned to NCIS once they had been alerted that both Kate and Jenny were not answering their cellphones and hadn't returned home. A patrol officer had found both of their cars at Kate's apartment and blood on the ground.

"McGee, talk to me." Gibbs ordered. They'd been searching for leads for two days, and Gibbs could feel that they were getting close. Of course, that was accompanied by a feeling of dread that had settled in him the moment Jenny hadn't answered her phone. McGee nodded and put two pictures on the plasma, side by side.

"They're siblings boss. Paloma Reynosa and her younger brother Alejandro Rivera. Their father is-"

"Pedro Hernandez." Gibbs cut him off. "I know them. And I know where they'll be. Gear up!" Everyone scrambled to do as they were told and then crammed into the elevator.

"Can we at least know where we're going?" Ellie asked.

"Mexico. Paloma Reynosa is the head of the Reynosa Cartel. She's keeping them at her mansion."

"What is our plan Gibbs?" Ziva asked. Everyone but Tony looked at him expectantly.

"We get them out. Do whatever you have to do."

*Reynosa Residence*

"I think we have a right to know why you're planning to kill us." Kate commented. Alejandro and Paloma hadn't spoken a word to them in ages, and Jenny wasn't very forthcoming with words either, so Kate felt it was up to her to try and identify with their captors.

"I think that you should keep your mouth shut before I put a bullet in your head." Paloma bit back.

"They're after Jethro." Jenny offered quietly. "For something that happened eight years ago."

"He killed our father!" Alejandro snapped.

"Your father killed his wife!" Jenny snapped back.

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked helplessly.

"Jethro's wife was killed when their father ordered that the driver be shot while he was driving her to witness protection. She'd witnessed one of his drug deals. Kelly was in the car too, but she escaped with only a broken arm and a broken leg. He killed their father a month later. Their names are Paloma Reynosa and Alejandro Rivera. She's the head of the Reynosa Cartel." Jenny explained quickly. Paloma glared at them, finally stepping into the light for the first time.

"Seeing as you already know who I am, I see no reason that I can't threaten you more effectively." she growled. "Be. Quiet. Or I will cut out your tongue and send it to your boyfriend in a box!"

"I'd like to see you try." Jenny retorted. Another scathing glare from the Hispanic woman. The redhead was far too used to Jethro's glares to be intimidated and just stared back at her with a bored expression. Paloma arched an eyebrow before backing up slightly.

"Unchain them Alejandro." she said.

"What?" her brother asked in disbelief.

"They want a fair fight. So we'll give it to them." Paloma shrugged, not taking her eyes off of Jenny. The woman in question did the same as Alejandro unlocked her chains before moving to undo Kate's. Paloma grinned wickedly.

"Are you ready to be put in your place director?" she taunted.

"Bring it on."


	14. The Fight

Kelly sat unhappily at the home of her father's third ex-wife, trying to get as much information as she possibly could about what was going on. The only thing that she could get out of her father and the rest of the team was that something was wrong and it involved Kate and Jenny. Finally, she found a promising link and clicked on it. A news report began to play.

"Sources say that NCIS, the FBI, and the CIA are all searching for the two missing women who have been identified as Jennifer Shepard, the director of NCIS, and Caitlin Todd, a special agent on the Major Case Response Team and former Secret Service Agent..." Kelly tuned out the rest of the report, her hand flying up to cover her mouth and tears filling her eyes.

"Oh my God." she whispered just as Diane entered the room.

"Kelly, don't watch that." the older redhead said, moving to the teen's side and closing out the browser.

"This is why they didn't want to tell me." Kelly looked up at her former step-mother. "They're angry with me. This is my fault." Diane gave her a sympathetic look.

"No sweetie, it's not your fault. This is exactly why your father asked me not to tell you what happened. He knew you'd blame yourself." she said gently.

"Diane." Kelly said urgently, forcing the older woman to listen. "It _is_ my fault."

"No it's-" Diane began.

"No! It is! I was mean to Jenny! I made her run out of the house! I showed her the photo album of all of dad's wives and Hollis!" Kelly cut her off quickly, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "They wouldn't have gotten her if I hadn't been so mean!" Diane gently led the teen to sit on the couch, holding her tightly.

"Kelly, if they had really wanted her, they would've gotten her no matter where she was." she told the girl. "You couldn't have prevented it. For all we know, Kate was the target and Jenny just happened to be in the same place. It's not your fault." Kelly held tightly to her favorite step-mother, sobbing harshly.

"It's my fault. It's my fault." she sobbed, over and over as Diane tried her hardest to console her.

*Reynosa Mansion*

Jenny quickly jumped out of the way of yet another blow that Paloma threw at her. The Hispanic woman had already managed to land several punches and a few kicks as well.

"That all you got?" she taunted as she threw a punch of her own, hitting the other woman in the jaw. The redhead spared a quick glance at Kate, who was doing everything in her power to fight back against Alejandro while simultaneously trying to protect her abdomen. She saw the man take notice of Kate's protection focus and aimed there, so she jumped quickly, taking the blow herself.

"Jenny!" Kate shrieked as the redhead fell to her knees from the force packed into the blow.

"The brunette's pregnant Paloma." Alejandro informed his sister, watching on boredly as Jenny had to lean on all fours in an attempt to regain her breath. Then, getting tired of no action going on, he kicked her over like a dog, forcing the breath out of her again.

"Leave her alone!" Kate snapped.

"No." Jenny choked out. "No, leave her alone. I don't care what you do to me, just leave her alone." Alejandro looked at his sister.

"Leave the pregnant one alone." Paloma agreed gravely, her mind flashing to her own pregnancy several years back. She'd miscarried, and she would not wish that experience on even the most hated woman on the planet. Alejandro shrugged and pulled Jenny to her feet by her hair, throwing her against the wall. The redhead's head smacked against the concrete, scraping against a shard of glass sticking out of the wall as well, and she could feel blood begin to pour out of the gash that resulted.

She faintly heard Kate screaming as the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and she nearly gave up then, despite her speech to Kate when they'd first awoken. But then Jethro popped into her mind. Their lazy Saturdays when Kelly was at Maddy's. Laughing happily on the streets of Paris. Him holding her as they lay in bed watching the sunrise in Serbia, her listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat as he kissed the top of her head.

With those memories pushing her on, she whirled back around, kicking out at Alejandro and landing a kick square in his stomach. A whoosh of air left his lips, and he doubled over. Paloma narrowed her eyes, moving towards the still bleeding woman.

Jenny anticipated her move, as Gibbs had always taught her, and ducked out of the way of the kick aimed at her head. She thrust her leg out from her crouched position, her foot colliding hard with Paloma's standing leg. The Hispanic woman screeched in surprise and fell, landing hard on her back.

Jenny stood but stumbled back, leaning against the wall for support. The blood loss was beginning to get to her, and she pulled off her jacket, clumsily holding it up to the gash on her head. She weakly tried to push off of the wall and failed.

"Jenny!" Kate cried. The redhead turned her eyes to the brunette. At some point during the fight, one of Paloma and Alejandro's accomplices had moved into the room and rechained the pregnant woman.

' _I love you Jethro._ ' Jenny thought as she saw Alejandro and Paloma coming towards her through her blurred vision. She closed her eyes against the image, waiting.

And six gunshots rang out.

 **Cliffhanger! Sorry about that, but I just had to. And I'm not even going to apologize for throwing Diane in there. I love Diane. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed, and I will try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible!**


	15. Reunion

Jenny forced her eyes open after a moment when the pain of being shot didn't come. Her vision was still blurred, but she managed to just make out a male figure coming towards her.

"Jethro?" she questioned, catching sight of the silver hair.

"Yeah, I'm here Jen. Come on, we're going to get you to the medical helicopter." Gibbs told her, moving to pick her up.

"No, no! I'm fine. Check Kate." Jenny argued as the paramedics began to enter the building. One of them came over to her. "No! I'm fine! She's pregnant, and they hit her, check her!"

"Jen, Tony and some of the other paramedics have got Kate. Your head is almost completely split open, and you still have the injury from when they knocked you out. Let them check you." Gibbs ordered. Finally, the redhead relented, allowing the paramedics to look at her.

"She's gonna need stitches on the front and back of her head. We'll have to take her back to the hospital." the paramedic told him.

"Do it." he agreed.

"Boss, Kate's gotta go to the hospital too." Tony said worriedly, suddenly appearing beside him. "They said she needs stitches on the back of the head, and they want to check on the baby." Gibbs nodded.

"Come on Jen." he said with a tone that brooked not argument. He hooked an arm under her knees and the other around her back, picking her up bridal style. He then carried her outside to where the medical helicopter was waiting. Tony followed soon after with Kate, who was much more alert than Jenny, but crying.

"She took so much for me!" the brunette was sobbing as Tony handed her off to Gibbs before climbing into the helicopter himself. "She could die because of me!"

"Kate, she's gonna be fine." Gibbs told her. "She was trying to protect you and the baby." Kate began sobbing again, clutching Tony tightly when he pulled her back into his lap.

The rest of the helicopter ride was silent, save for Kate's sobbing.

*Bethesda*

Kelly raced into the waiting room of the hospital, Diane following as quickly as she could manage. The teen skidded to a stop when she found Abby, Ziva, Ellie, and McGee sitting in the plastic chairs scattered around.

"Where are they? Are they okay?" she asked frantically.

"They said Kate and the baby are both okay. We haven't gotten any news on Jenny yet." McGee answered. Abby's lip trembled, and it was then that Kelly noticed that her eyes were red ringed, as though she'd been crying. Tears filled the teen redhead's eyes, and Diane had just barely enough time to hug the girl to her before she burst into tears. She gripped the older woman tightly, sobbing harshly into her shoulder.

"It's all my fault!"

"Kel, it's not your fault." Kelly's head snapped up at the sound of her father's voice.

"Daddy!" she cried, running to him. He caught her, kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay Kelly. Jenny's fine. They just gave her some stitches. Lettin' her go tomorrow morning." he told her. Abby and Kelly both let out quick sobs of relief before throwing themselves at him together.

"Calm down girls, it's okay." Gibbs told them gently. "She's alright. All three of them are alright." Tony breathed out as he walked up beside Gibbs and the girls.

"They're keeping Kate overnight for observation." he said tiredly. Gibbs nodded.

"Annie, do me a favor?" he asked. Diane nodded, signalling him to continue. "Take the girls home and keep an eye on 'em till we bring Kate and Jenny home?"

"Sure." she agreed. "Keys?" Gibbs dug in his pocket and pulled out the keys, tossing them to her.

"Go with Diane." he then ordered both girls gently yet firmly. The two nodded slowly and followed Diane.

"Boss?" Tony asked.

"Yeah Dinozzo?"

"Thank you."

*The Next Day*

Kelly awoke from her position on the couch when the door to her father's house creaked open. It took her a moment to comprehend what was happening, but once she did, she shot up from the couch.

"Jenny!" The movement combined with the shouting woke Abby, who had also been asleep on the couch, and Diane, who had been asleep in the armchair.

"Kel, take it down a notch. She may be stitched up, but she's got a headache the size of the country." her father informed her. Kelly nodded before moving quickly and enveloping the older redhead in a hug, being careful of her injuries.

"I'm sorry Jenny. I'm so, so sorry. I don't hate you, and I don't want you to leave again. I love you." An expression of shock made its way on Jenny's face, though she quickly masked it, putting her arms around Kelly in return.

"I love you too sweetie." she said. Abby was next to hug the director, toning down her usual strength in order to refrain from hurting the other woman further. Soon, the forensic scientist and teen redhead were pulling Jenny to sit on the couch, chattering all the way.

Diane stood off to the side, watching the exchange but also lost in her own thoughts, which is why she jumped when Gibbs was suddenly standing next to her.

"You okay?" he asked quietly. He'd been observing her ever since the girls had taken over with Jenny, and he'd seen the look in her eyes as she watched them all interact. She shrugged slightly.

"I'm alright." she answered.

"You never were a very good liar." he remarked lightly. A small smile graced her features.

"I never meant to fall in love. But you made it so easy." she whispered.

"I'm sorry Annie." Gibbs told her sincerely in the softest tone she'd ever heard him use.

"Thought you didn't do apologies." she recalled, a single tear slipping out of the corner of her eye. "Something about a sign of weakness."

"Not when it's between family." he replied without missing a beat, wiping the tear away gently. "It wasn't your fault." She nodded, looking off to the side before turning back and rising on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Talk low, talk slow, and don't say too much." she quoted. With those words, she said goodbye and headed for the door. She was halfway down the drive to her car when Jenny caught up with her.

"Diane." the other redhead said. "I just...wanted to tell you that I really am sorry for what happened between you and Jethro. I didn't mean to mess up his life, and I wanted to thank you too...for taking care of them." Diane nodded.

"I love them." she replied simply, and the use of the present tense didn't escape Jenny's notice. "I cherish the time that I had with them, even if it's less painful to push away the memories."

"Still...thank you. I honestly wasn't trying to ruin their lives." Diane nodded again.

"I know you weren't, and they do too. But I'll tell you now, and don't you dare take this lightly, if you hurt either one of them again, I swear to God that I will personally make you regret it." she said dangerously.

"I won't."

And with that, the two women parted ways.

 **Couldn't resist the Diane/Gibbs moment. And the credit for Gibbs's nickname for Diane goes to . Hope you guys enjoyed this one!**


	16. The Bet

**Okay, Kate and Tony need some alone time, so here we go!**

Tony held tightly to Kate's hand as he helped her into his apartment. She had one hand on her stomach and a light smile on her lips.

"Tony, the doctors said we're alright." she said gently. "Jenny took the brunt of it. She's in worse shape than me, and she's at home with Gibbs and Kelly already."

"I know." Tony nodded. "But I'm still worried. I can't lose you Kate. Not after I just got you back." Her brown eyes softened at his concern, and she kissed him softly.

"You won't lose me." she promised quietly. He kissed her temple and proceeded to lead her to the couch.

"Promise you'll take it easy for a few days?" he asked, relieved when she simply nodded rather than arguing. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving!" she answered enthusiastically. "Can you make me a grilled cheese? Or three? With bananas and pickles and ice cream?" He laughed aloud then. A real, happy laugh.

"Absolutely. Anything you want." he agreed, kissing her. She laughed as well, chasing his mouth when he tried to pull away.

"You realize no food will get made, and I will have broken my own vow for you to take it easy, if you keep this up." he mumbled as she deepened the kiss. She laughed, pulling back.

"Alright." she smiled happily. "Get to cooking!" He laughed with her before placing one last kiss on her forehead and setting to work on making her food.

Once she was eating, Tony sat down on the couch beside her. He placed an arm around her shoulders, content to just have her close.

"I love you." he said during a particularly quiet moment.

"I love you too." she responded immediately, leaning into his side a little. He kissed the side of her head, happy to just be with her and to have her back.

*2 hours later*

After finishing her food, Kate had decided that the two of them were going to watch a movie together to relax. Currently, they were lying on the couch together, Tony on his back and Kate lying on top of him. No longer paying attention to the movie, Kate was pressing her hand to her stomach in various places.

"What are you doing?" Tony finally asked after about ten minutes of simply watching her.

"Trying to see if the baby will kick." she answered. His face lit up in anticipation, and he placed his hand over hers. Almost immediately, Kate felt a strong, swift kick.

"I think he's partial to you daddy." she said with a smile.

"Nah, _she's_ probably just as stubborn as you mommy." he countered. Kate rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly. They'd been arguing over what the baby would be for nearly a month now. She believed that it was going to be a boy, but Tony was adamant that it was going to be a girl. She was sure that the agency was taking bets by now.

"You know what? Tomorrow we're going to Gibbs's house and asking him and Jenny what they think the baby will be. Gibbs's gut will tell us who's right." she decided.

"You're on."

 **Not the best ending or the best chapter, but I think I've let myself get a little rusty from not updating. But if anyone's still reading this, drop me a review with your votes for the baby's gender and suggestions for names!**


	17. The End

**This story has not been updated in ages, and I am so sorry guys. I literally have no explanation for not getting this up other than I lost motivation for writing anything like** _ **at all**_ **. So, I hope I still have some readers out there, and if I do, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

The next day, Kelly opened the front door to find Kate and Tony standing on the front porch.

"Oh my God, Kate!" the teen gasped, hugging the other woman.

"Hey Kelly." Kate smiled. "Don't worry, I'm alright. The baby too." Kelly nodded, stepping aside to let them in.

"Dad and Jenny are in the kitchen." she informed them. The two nodded, stepping inside just as the two they were looking for stepped out of the kitchen.

"Jenny, are you okay?!" Kate asked immediately. The redhead smiled softly at the brunette.

"Perfectly fine. Bit of a headache, but otherwise nothing." she answered. The doctors had done a wonderful job with her stitches. The gash that had previously been quite large and worrying was stitched tightly enough that it looked much, much smaller. Kate opened her mouth to speak again, but she was cut off when another knock sounded at the door. Confusion spread over everyone's features as Gibbs walked over and opened the door. The confusion disappeared when they saw Abby, McGee, Ziva, and Ellie standing outside.

"Gibbs!" Abby beamed. "We were in the neighborhood and thought we'd drop by to say hi."

"All four of you just happened to be in the neighborhood?" Gibbs asked, raising an eyebrow at the favorite.

"Well, no, but I figured that was less crazy than me calling everyone at 0500 and forcing them to get up and get dressed and get tons of food and baby stuff and bring it over here on the off chance that Kate and Tony would be visiting." Abby replied cheerfully. Gibbs simply rolled his eyes at her and let them in.

"Ooh, there's the mommy to be!" she squealed, rushing over to Kate and feeling her only slightly larger stomach.

"Hey Abs." Kate laughed.

"How is my niece or nephew?" Abby questioned, placing a kiss on her best friend's belly.

"He's good. He's only really active at night when I'm trying to sleep, and I'm constantly hungry, but other than we're doing just fine." Kate answered.

"You mean she." Tony put in, making Kate roll her eyes.

"Which brings me to the reason we came over today." she said.

"Which is?" Jenny questioned, sipping her coffee.

"Tony and I wanted to ask you and Gibbs a question since you both have such a sure instinct." Kate began.

"Do you think the baby is going to be a boy or a girl?" Tony finished.

"Ooh, ooh, it's totally gonna be a boy!" Abby squealed, jumping up and down beside Kate. "A little mini Dinozzo!"

"No way. It's a girl." Ellie said.

"Obviously a girl." Ziva agreed.

"I actually do think it's going to be a boy." McGee spoke up.

"It's gonna be a boy." Kelly nodded.

"Good thing we weren't asking you losers." Tony snorted lightly, earning a smack from Kate. She was staring intently at Gibbs and Jenny, who were both studying her belly.

"So?" she questioned. Gibbs and Jenny looked at each other before looking back at her.

"Both." they said together. Everyone stared at them with wide eyes.

"What?" Tony finally asked.

"Both." Gibbs repeated.

"You're going to have twins. A boy and a girl." Jenny elaborated.

"Wait, wouldn't the doctor have caught it by now if I was having twins?" Kate asked in shock.

"Not necessarily. There've been cases of women having twins and not realizing it until they had already delivered the first baby and the contractions didn't stop." Abby piped up. Kate and Tony simply gaped at her.

"Well, guess you're having twins Kate." Kelly said, flopping down on the couch. "Gibbs and Shepard have spoken."

"Are we starting that up again?" Jenny asked in an amused tone.

"Absolutely." Kelly grinned.

"I'm lost. What are we starting up again?" Tony asked, though still in shock from the twins business.

"Calling them Gibbs and Shepard all the time. I started it up a few weeks after they started dating when I was ten cause they started to speak at the same time and finish each other's sentences. It's like they can read the other's mind just by sharing a look." Kelly explained. Jenny shook her head with a smile playing at her lips as Gibbs rested a hand on her hip.

"We're just in sync, that's all." she said. "Plus, you're bigger than you would be with one baby considering how far along you are."

"How would you guys know how big you're supposed to be at each stage? No offense boss." Ellie questioned.

"A case we had a while back. One that actually nearly resulted in our own little one." Jenny recalled. She caught the looks of shock on everyone's faces and laughed.

"Okay, no one told me you almost had a kid together." Kelly grumbled.

"I was late, and we thought it might be because of that. Turns out it was just stress." Jenny shrugged lightly as though it was no big deal. Kelly opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by Abby.

"Okay, that's enough serious talk! Let's have some fun!" she grinned, dumping a pile of board games onto the coffee table. Everyone gathered around, and for the rest of the day they were simply a family. By the time night fell, there was no doubt within any one of them that they were going to be okay.

And that was finally the day.

 **Awkward ending, but I lost where I was going with this, so I figured I should go ahead and just finish it here. I hope you all enjoyed the story, and thank you for reading!**


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